money.cnn.com - If history is any indication, the recent spike in mortgage rates is going to have little to no impact on home prices, according to a new report from Fannie Mae.

After looking at mortgage rates going back to 1990, Fannie Mae's researchers came to the surprising conclusion that while rising rates were likely to hurt the number of home sales, they had virtually no impact on home prices.

money.cnn.com - A monthly survey by mortgage finance firm Fannie Mae found 51% of those questioned in April believe prices will rise in the next 12 months, while only 35% are projecting a drop in prices. It is the first time in the three-year history of the survey that a majority said they expect prices to increase.

A year ago, 49% were expecting further price declines while only 32% said they though prices were on their way up.

mortgagenewsdaily.com - The April edition of Fannie Mae's National Housing Survey revealed increasing optimism in American attitudes toward both housing and the overall economy. Virtually every positive indicator in the survey ticked upward.

More than half of survey respondents now expect home prices to climb within the next 12 months. Fifty-one percent said they expected such improvement, up 3 percentage points from March and 19 points higher than in April 2012. Expectations of how large that increase will be remained at an average of 2.7 percent for the second month in a row.

inman.com - Americans continued to view housing as a relative bright spot in the economy, even as their sentiment towards the broader economy and household finances limped along, according to Fannie Mae's February 2013 National Housing Survey.

Americans who believe home prices will increase over the next year and home price expectations for 2013 both hit their highest levels since the survey's inception in June 2010, the survey found. But confidence in personal finances, household income and the health of the overall economy kept pat or dipped, according to the survey.

dsnews.com - Given improvements seen in housing, Fannie Mae revised its housing forecast higher for 2012 and 2013 in its November economic outlook report.

According to the GSE, the fundamentals are set in place for a “solid” housing recovery, such as low interest rates, rising prices, and a labor market that’s healing.

Considering these developments in housing, the GSE’s Economic & Strategic Research Group anticipates single-family housing starts will jump 25 percent this year, then rise by another 22 percent in 2013.

Fannie Mae recently announced expansion of it's Homepath Mortgage product that provides home buyers and investors financing for the purchase of Fannie Mae-owned properties.

The new product will allow eligible individual and LLC borrowers to finance up to 20 properties using the Homepath Mortgage. NAR has long called for expansion of financing opportunities for investors as a way to increase the absorbtion of REO properties. Fannie Mae will offer flexible lending terms and will not require appraisals of the properties.

Visit Homepath.com for more information on the program and participating lenders.

inman.com - In a small step that's part of a broader plan to bring back the secondary market for mortgages not guaranteed by the government, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's regulator today announced it's ordered the mortgage giants to increase the guarantee fees they charge lenders.

The average increase of 10 basis points -- 0.10 percent -- would cost a borrower with a $200,000 mortgage about $4,000 over a 30-year loan term, Bloomberg reports.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have issued new guidelines designed to speed up short sales and make them more consistent, but real estate agents question whether they are achievable in the real world.

In a short sale, a lender agrees to accept less than the amount owed on a property and release its lien.

Under the new guidelines, which take effect June 15, servicers have 30 days to review and respond to short sale offers or requests. If they need more than 30 days, they must provide the borrower weekly updates and a final response within 60 days.